Box for the toe portions of boots or shoes



R. W. BIERER.

BOX FOR THE TOE PORTIONS 0 BOOTS 0R SHOES.

APPLICAHON FILED JULY 12, 1919.

1,373,855. Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

4 7306736 972 TW WF/M HNETEQ STATES FATENT @FFEQE.

BOX FOR THE TOE PORTIONS OF BOOTS 0R SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application filed July 12, 1919. Serial No. 310,355.

To all 110 hom it my camera Be it known that I, RALPH W. BInRER, acitizen of the United- States, residing in Binghamton, in the county ofBroome and State of New York, have invented an Imrovement in Boxes forthe Toe Portions of oots or Shoes, of which the following description,in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likecharacters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to a novel construction of box for the toeportion of a boot or shoe, whereby a. superior shoe may be produced at aminimum cost.

To this end, the box is composed of a member of celluloid, pyroxylin orlike modlfication of cellulose, which will be hereinafter referred to asthe celluloid member, a member or layer of paper which is capable of:being stretched without splitting or tearing, preferably a paper foundon the market and known as crape paper, said paper layer beingadhesively aflixed to the upper surface of the celluloid member, and alayer or member of cloth which is adhesively affixed to the lowersurface of said celluloid member. The celluloid member is normallyflatand of suitable shape to enable it to conform the shape of the toeportion of the shoe in which it is to be incorporated.

The paper and cloth members are shaped like the celluloid member but areslightly larger, and are formed by a suitable cuttlng die. 'In practicea plurality or bunch of the paper members are simultaneously cut from aplurality of sheets or layers of paper, and 111) like manner the clothmembers are cut from a plurality of sheets or layers of cloth.

The bunch or plurality of paper members, usually about 18 in number, isdipped in a solvent for the celluloid, preferably a solution of acetoneand alcohol, and then passed through an ordinary clothes wringer, whichhas its rolls adjusted so as to express the surplus solvent and leave inthe paper the proper or desired amount of the solvent. The bunch ofcloth members is treated in the same manner, and it has been found thata bunch of about 36 layers of cloth can be handled satisfactorily.Immediately after the cloth and paper members have been passed throughthe wringer, they are assembled in a vertical pile with a celluloidmember between adjacent cloth and paper members. This operation isperformed with the aid of a vertical guide,'which is curved to conformwith the curve of the rear edges of the cloth and paper members.

The mode of procedure is as follows: A cloth member is placed againstthe guide, then a celluloid member is placed on top of the cloth withits rear edge removed from the guide a distance equal to the overlapdesired on the cloth. Two paper members are then placed over thecelluloid member with their rear edges against the vertical guide. Acelluloid member is then placed upon the paper with the rear edge a.distance from the vertical guide equal to the overlap desired on thecloth members. Twomembers of cloth are then placed on top of thecelluloid member with their rear edges touching the vertical guide andthenanother celluloid member is placed on top of the cloth at a distancefrom the vertical guide equal to the overlap desired on the cloth andthen two paper members are applied, and so on until the desired numberof members have been assembled to form the number of toe boxes desired,which number is usually 36, but-any other number of boxes may beassembled according to the number of shoes in the case being made up. Assoon as the correct number of boxes have been assembled, they are placedin a. practically air tight can, where- 1n the solvent in the paper andcloth members acts on the celluloid members and said paper and clothmembers become adhesively aflixed to the celluloid members. It usuallyrequires about 30 minutes for the celluloid to become somewhat mulledand sufficiently pliable to last, but it is preferred to leave the boxesin the cans for a longer period and preferably for about two hours, atthe end of which time the celluloid members are in good condition to belasted.

The three members comprising a box blank are then removed from the canas a unit, and placed in position in the boot or shoe upper, andtheupper and celluloid member are then stretched by a suitable pull orpressure, compressed, bent, or curved so as to conform to the shape ofthe last and form the box for the toe portion of the shoe.

While the box is being shaped, the crape layer remains unbroken as it isof such nature or construction as to enable it to be expanded orstretched without splitting or tearing.

The crape paper layer is materially thinner than the cloth layer, whichis of materialadvantage in the manufacture of the box, as the papertakes up materially less solvent than the cloth layer, thereby effectinga very material saving in thequantity of solvent used by the shoemanufacturer during a given period of time, as for instance a year, andthe paper is much cheaper than the cloth. The paper layer is very thinand enables the cloth layer belowit to be clearly seen, and this is ofadvantage when the blanks are piled up, as the cloth and paper blankscan be piled up with their rear edges flush, thereby obtaining a moreuniform overlap of cloth over the rear edge of the celluloid member.

The crape paper layer also reduces the thickness of the box, therebyincreasing the pliability of the latter and rendering it moreresilientor springy, so that when incorporated in the shoe, if it shouldbecome slightly dented in by a light blow, it Wlll automatically springback into shape, and in case it is dented in by a heavy blow, it can beforced or sprung back into shape. by hand.

So also the thinner box permits the upper of the shoe to be lastedcloser to the last and thereby better conform to the shape of the same,with the result that a neater and more finished shoe can be produced,especially those having narrow pointed toes, and also the operation oflasting the upper is made easier.

The thinner box enables the shoe to be provided with a smoother upper asit avoids a break in the upper where the box ends. So also any tendencyof the box to curl downward at its rear edge is avoided with theresultthat the inside of the shoe at the toe portion is smooth and thusavoids hurtin the foot of the wearer.

urthermore the thin paper enables the rear edge of the cloth member tobe clearly seen, which enables the celluloid member to be betterpositioned in the shoe as the rear edge of the cloth is thus availableas a guide.

The particular features of the invention will be pointed out in theclaims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 represents a shoe embodying this invention.

Fig. 2, a longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of the toe portionof the shoe shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, a cross section on an enlarged scale of the toe portion of theshoeshown in Fig. 1, and Y 1 stretched when the box blank is pressed.

into shape on the last, not shown, while being incorporated in the shoe15, is represented by the wavy lines 16.

In Figs. 2 and 3, the box is shown as incorporated in a shoe providedwith the cloth lining 17, and the vamp lining 19 interposed between thebox toe and the vamp or upper 20 and while a space is represented inFig. 2 between the cloth lining 17 and the vamp lining 19, in order toillustrate clearly the box within the shoe, such space does not exist inthe finished shoe represented in Fig. 1, by reference to which it willbe seen that the upper does not break where the box ends, but presents asmooth and unbroken surface.

One construction of shoe embodying the improved box is herein shown, butit is not desired to'limit the invention in this respect as the box iscapable of being used with all makes of shoes having toe boxes.

The finished shoe represented in Fig. 1 possesses the advantages abovereferred to.

I claim.

l. A box for the toe portions of shoes, comprising a celluloid member, acloth member adhesively affixed to the under surface of said celluloidmember, and a member of crape paper adhesively afiixed to the uppersurface of said celluloid member.

2. A box for the toe portions of shoes comprising a celluloid member, amember of fibrous material adhesively aflixed to one surface of saidcelluloid member, and a member of paper capable of being expanded orstretched without tearing or splitting, adhesively affixed to theopposite surface of said celluloid member.

A box for the toe portions of shoes RALPH W. BTERER.

